Makaracetus

Name: Makaracetus ‭(‬Makara whale‭)‬.
Phonetic: Mak-ah-rah-see-tus.
Named By: P.‭ ‬D.‭ ‬Gingerich,‭ ‬I.‭ ‬S.‭ ‬Zalmout,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Ul-Haq‭ & ‬M.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Bhatti‭ ‬-‭ ‬2005.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Cetacea,‭ ‬Archaeoceti,‭ ‬Protocetidae.
Species: M.‭ ‬bidens‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Skull about‭ ‬53‭ ‬centimetres long.
Known locations: Pakistan‭ ‬-‭ ‬Habib Rahi Formation.
Time period: Lutetian of the Eocene.
Fossil representation: Skull.

       Makaracetus is a genus of protocetid whale that lived in Pakistan during the Eocene.‭ ‬The most notable feature of Makaracetus is the strange shaped snout which dips down,‭ ‬and may be a sign that Makaracetus had a proboscis,‭ ‬alternatively known as a trunk,‭ ‬that may‭ ‬have been similar to a tapirs.‭ ‬This was the inspiration for the name Makaracetus which means‭ ‘‬Makara whale‭’‬.‭ ‬In Hindu mythology the Makara is an animal that is‭ ‬sometimes portrayed as half elephant and half fish.

Further reading
-‭ ‬Makracetus bidens,‭ ‬a new protocetid archaeocete‭ (‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Cetacea‭) ‬from the early middle Eocene of Balochistan‭ (‬Pakistan‭)‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology,‭ ‬University of Michigan‭ ‬31‭(‬9‭)‬:197-210.‭ ‬-‭ ‬P.‭ ‬D.‭ ‬Gingerich,‭ ‬I.‭ ‬S.‭ ‬Zalmout,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Ul-Haq‭ & ‬M.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Bhatti‭ ‬-‭ ‬2005.



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